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Tim Cook makes blistering attack on the “data industrial complex”

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Re: Tim Cook makes blistering attack on the “data industrial complex”

#511

Post by sizzle »

indigochill wrote: post #483
burtonator wrote: post #301

Earlier quoted context omitted.

By other companies I mean companies like Cambridge Analytica. There are tons of other shady companies out there doing nefarious things with your data. We're going to need platforms that support group encryption and better security for apps.

>We're going to need platforms that support group encryption and better security for apps. Definitely. Though I also feel we need to give a shock to public awareness of just how evil people can be with this data. My perception is that people are trending towards "vaguely uncomfortable" with the news of foreign interference with targeted ads, election hacking, and so on, but we've a ways to go yet before most will giv…

Maybe some vigilante can create a website where you can type in anyone's name and it connects to these apis, server-side in a sovereign territory, then spits out redacted info about every facet of that person's life so you know it's legitimate and then get a few big news orgs to pick up the story about tech companies abusing data or something....

Re: Tim Cook makes blistering attack on the “data industrial complex”

#512

Post by sizzle »

blihp wrote: post #347
da_chicken wrote: post #308

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And people wonder why I've argued that, at some point, IT needs to be a certified and regulated profession like lawyers, doctors, engineers, nurses, pilots, accountants, electricians, plumbers, teachers, etc. If the future is going to be built using software and data, it's probably going to be essential that the general public have some agency -- public or private -- to safeguard the public interest. It takes years o…

That won't help even a little bit in this case. That's like trying place the responsibility to reduce the amount of garbage generated on those who drive the garbage trucks. The decision to engage in the bad behavior usually doesn't come from IT staff or engineers, it comes from management. Hold the leaders of these organizations responsible and you'll see the problem fixed real quick.

You are complicit if your moral compass allows you to create software that challenges fundamental human rights without pushing back or taking a stand.

Re: Tim Cook makes blistering attack on the “data industrial complex”

#513

Post by munk-a »

sizzle wrote: post #511
indigochill wrote: post #483

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>We're going to need platforms that support group encryption and better security for apps. Definitely. Though I also feel we need to give a shock to public awareness of just how evil people can be with this data. My perception is that people are trending towards "vaguely uncomfortable" with the news of foreign interference with targeted ads, election hacking, and so on, but we've a ways to go yet before most will giv…

Maybe some vigilante can create a website where you can type in anyone's name and it connects to these apis, server-side in a sovereign territory, then spits out redacted info about every facet of that person's life so you know it's legitimate and then get a few big news orgs to pick up the story about tech companies abusing data or something....

So the data is out there and nefarious people are going to be nefarious... but I'd be concerned that such an offering would lower the barrier to entry enough that terrible neighbors might blackmail each over by finding such information. I think a more reasonable approach might be to build up such a service behind a auth lock, execute it for yourself and a journalist and send those two reports and the tool to the journalist.

Re: Tim Cook makes blistering attack on the “data industrial complex”

#514

Post by munk-a »

da_chicken wrote: post #308
burtonator wrote: post #258

I'd like to think I'm one of the good guys here. I was one of the inventors of RSS and Atom and worked to push open content and social media. I started a social data search platform named Datastreamer ( http://www.datastreamer.io/ ) which is basically a petabyte-scale content indexing engine. We provide API feeds to search engines and social media analytics companies needing bulk data but don't want to have to build…

And people wonder why I've argued that, at some point, IT needs to be a certified and regulated profession like lawyers, doctors, engineers, nurses, pilots, accountants, electricians, plumbers, teachers, etc. If the future is going to be built using software and data, it's probably going to be essential that the general public have some agency -- public or private -- to safeguard the public interest. It takes years o…

I don't think regulation is necessarily required, but I think consequences are... and serious ones at that. Data misuse and "oopies" data breaches by shady companies that were about to go out of business are actions that should be seen as malicious and come with serious penalties. Judges aren't the best at tech stuff but if they're lacking we (techy people) should help inform guidelines and let the justice system do its job here.

Re: Tim Cook makes blistering attack on the “data industrial complex”

#515

Post by abecedarius »

paxys wrote: post #474
s3r3nity wrote: post #390

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I struggle with Apple's China situation as well, but the more I turn it over in my head, the more I think it's that Tim is pulled between two parties: 1) His team + Apple Directors that I firmly believe, both in words AND in their action, are strong proponents of privacy of the user 2) The Apple Board + Sharedholders that would revolt if the privacy principles from (1) prevented access to a market of ~1.4 billion peo…

You can make this exact argument for Google or Facebook or anyone else. Simply bringing up "evil shareholders" doesn't absolve any company or individual from criticism.

In the case of Google, I thought a handful of people had controlling interest. (Just Larry and Sergei?) Maybe similarly for Facebook, I haven't checked.

Re: Tim Cook makes blistering attack on the “data industrial complex”

#516

Post by ux-app »

kodablah wrote: post #486
ChuckMcM wrote: post #459

It would be interesting if there were a civil penalty accessible to individuals if their personal data was divulged by someone to collected it. Lets say that it was $1,000 to $10,000. And that individuals need only file a simple form with the appropriate agency naming the company, identifying themselves, and the information divulged and get paid. The amount would vary based on how detailed the information was, more d…

Can I waive the company's liability for my data? Regardless of the answer, herein lies the problem.

> Regardless of the answer, herein lies the problem.

don't pursue damages?

Re: Tim Cook makes blistering attack on the “data industrial complex”

#517

Post by krrrh »

telchar wrote: post #377
Waterluvian wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's exactly the problem I have. I don't want the unblockable ads and spying but I need my phone to be some cheap thing I don't have to respect or worry about. Once I started buying $150 phones every 2-3 years, I realised how much I need a device that I don't lose any sleep over it getting beaten to death and possibly replaced prematurely.

Speaking about unblockable ads, I had to set up a pi-hole to block ads at the network level because I couldn't block them on my ipad on any browser. Why does Apple make it so hard? Am I missing something?

Safari has supported third party ad blockers for a few years. I use 1BlockerX and it works well. There are dozens of other options. Including Firefox Gocus which blocks ads by default and also functions as an ad locker for Safari.

https://1blocker.com

Re: Tim Cook makes blistering attack on the “data industrial complex”

#518

Post by ThomPete »

stephenr wrote: post #415
ThomPete wrote: post #392

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But I also said: "This is where I think the decentralized part becomes really valuable. How can we own our own data but exchange it with others and build trust over time just like we would in the real world." So not sure why you are asking about about something that is only part of what I wrote when I elaborate further down.

> How can we own our own data but exchange it with others and build trust over time just like we would in the real world. Well that's pretty simple. Don't use services that are paid for with your privacy. > So not sure why you are asking about about something that is only part of what I wrote when I elaborate further down. You claimed it's beneficial, I'm asking how.

And I am telling you I wrote some more so you have to read it in it's whole not just that part.

Re: Tim Cook makes blistering attack on the “data industrial complex”

#519

Post by [deleted] »

s3r3nity wrote: post #460
reacharavindh wrote: post #420

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, I agree that there is a nuance to it. But, if they said "We'd like the United States to stand up for the privacy of its citizens and create a law like that if GDPR. Apple is in full support of it because it helps our business too(it is our competitor's weakness)" I'd agree that they are talking the truth. But, writing that we "absolutely" care about your privacy, and that "caring for privacy is in our DNA" and s…

I'm not sure I agree that it IS hypocrisy: if you want to operate in a place for business, and you have no choice (i.e. my point about Apple's Board + Shareholders,) you can rail against the policies in public as much as possible and hope that the law favors your principles. That's what Tim Cook is doing here: hoping the US doesn't go in the direction of an authoritarian government, and lobbying as much as he can to…

[deleted]

Re: Tim Cook makes blistering attack on the “data industrial complex”

#520

Post by reaperducer »

drivingmenuts wrote: post #199
leereeves wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple's App Store policies are about far more than app quality or safety. Apple has banned many apps for political or financial reasons. Slowing down old phones without notice or permission wasn't the best response to aging batteries. Even Apple didn't deny it was wrong. They apologized, once they were caught. And the MagSafe connector was not a common failure point.

Personally, I think the MagSafe connector was bloody brilliant and I'm not giving up my mid-2015 MBP until it absolutely won't function any more, because of that feature (it's saved my MBP several times when I was a bit clumsy or forgetful). Another reason: the multiplicity of ports and bunches of things that all use USB-A.

I believe there's a product, or at least a Kickstarter, to add a MagSafe-style dongle to a USB-C port.
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